No Place Like Home
by Simone Santos
Summary: One shot series following the events of Standing Your Ground and Finding Home. Happy and Madeline learn that raising a family isn't a walk in the park.
1. Chapter 1

"Daddy's Home"

Happy pulled his bike into the driveway behind Madeline's truck and wondered why she hadn't picked up Aiden's assortment of toys from the yard. Even after riding for nearly eight hours straight after two hours of sleep and being exhausted to the bone there was no way he was going to leave the toys scattered around.

It took a few minutes to gather them all, drop them in the large wooden storage unit that Opie had built on the porch for just that purpose and he realized he was glad for the time, it gave him a minute to switch his frame of mind. "I'm home!" He called out when he walked inside. "Why isn't the alarm on?"

He realized that the house was too quiet, there was no television on and none of the annoying ass music Madeline insisted on listening to and definitely not the sound of Aiden romping around as he should have been at four in the afternoon. With a tight feeling in his stomach and chest he withdrew his guns and started to search the house.

The kitchen was a fucking disaster, there was actually pancake batter dried on the counter top and the waffle maker still had half a waffle stuck in it. There was no sign of lunch or of dinner which should have been on the stove at this time.

What the fuck had happened in his house?

He moved quickly through the rooms, nearly pulled out his phone to call Jax and tell him to send people now because obviously something had happened while he was gone. Fuck! He was supposed to keep them safe.

The door to their bedroom was shut and Happy feared that it would be locked so instead of trying the knob he simply sent it off the hinges with a well placed kick.

Madeline let out a shrill shriek at the sound of the door being kicked open, looked over with wide eyes and the sound died out as she saw Happy standing there. "What did you do that for?" She demanded as she tugged her ear buds out of her ears.

"What the f... what happened to the house? I called out when I came home and you didn't answer." He stuck the gun back in the holster, looked down guiltily at the door. "I'll fix that." Happy noticed his wife's latest toy, an I-Pad on the covers and put two and two together, she'd been watching something on there again.

"I would hope so," she swung her legs off of the bed. "It's good to see you."

"You too. What the hell happened here today? The toys were all over the yard and the kitchen looks like a bomb hit it. And where's Aiden?"

"I threw him out with the recycling Hap," she rolled her eyes, "he's at Tara's. She's going to watch him tonight because I watched Thomas and Abel last night which is also why everything is a mess because I couldn't turn my back on that threesome. Our son is a maniac, they are maniacs. I found them trying to jump out of the bedroom window with the logic that it's only the second floor and they can't get really hurt."

Happy had to hide a smile, Aiden was the youngest of them but his son had no fear. Shit, it scared him sometimes but boys would be boys. He'd done some crazy things as a child. "Probably wouldn't, unless they landed on their heads and hopefully they've got more sense than that."

"That is not funny," she told him with a bit of a glare but the harsh look didn't last. A smile crossed her face. "Got something to tell you too."

"Oh?" Happy couldn't put his finger on what exactly was different about her but something was. He looked her up and down, she was in her favorite pajamas of purple pants with large lips all over them and a tank top.

"Can you stop staring at my tits while I tell you?" She was smiling wider now and moved closer to him. "It's kind of a big deal."

Happy met her eyes with a smirk. He closed the distance between them, pulled her tight against him. "Tell me." He rested his forehead against hers.

"Well, I missed you. I really missed you and I was going to wait until you came back but I couldn't. So I did it."

"Did what?" He was confused now. What the hell was she trying to tell him? A million things raced through his mind but none of them made sense. "Did what?" He repeated when she didn't answer.

"I took a pregnancy test," she told him, "and then I took another one and then I took the boys to the store and brought some more. I wanted to be sure," she shifted to press her lips lightly to him, "this one better be a girl because I am seriously outnumbered here."

Happy slid his hand to her stomach which was still the same as it had been maybe just a little harder than before. "You never even said you were late."

"Like I said, I wanted to be sure," she whispered, "I really hope you're as glad about this as I am."

"Of course I am, why the fuck wouldn't I be?" He pulled back from her. "I missed it with Aiden, I'm not missing it with this kid. I've been waiting for this just like you have."

"Oh yeah," Madeline challenged, "you've been thinking about it?"

"Yeah," he replied, "I have. In fact," he rubbed his fingers over her stomach, "I already know what name we should use if she's a girl."

Madeline was completely caught off guard by that statement. She didn't know what she'd expected him to say but the idea of him putting serious consideration into a name was pretty unexpected. "What name is that?" For a second she thought he might say Harley.

"Emma," he replied.

"That's... perfect," Madeline laughed and launched herself at him, he caught her and lifted her off of the ground. "Emma Jane, Eve's middle name was Jane and I think she'd like her granddaughter to have part of her name."

"Emma Jane," Happy turned towards the bed with her still in his arms. Hell, Madeline still managed to surprise him after all this time. Every other time she'd been so much as a day late he'd known about it but this time she'd stayed silent. "I love you Mad, more than I know how to say."

"I love you too and I don't need fancy words, I just need you."

"Got me Girl, always got me." He promised her as he lowered her down on to the bed and covered her body with his. "Really missed you."

"Show me." Madeline let her eyes fall shut as his mouth covered hers. There was nothing like the feeling of having Happy home with her and now everything was amplified now that she knew they were bringing a second life into the world.


	2. A Different Light

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from SOA.

A/N: Another little glimpse into life for Madeline and Happy. Thanks for following along with this.

"A Different Light."

In his day Happy Lowman had faced down countless threats, gone up against numerous enemies and he'd never been scared. Today, staring at his very pregnant wife he felt fear. "The steak is great Mad," he forked up another bite and somehow managed to choke the very well done meat down without a healthy dose of steak sauce.

Madeline glared at him, she'd been smiling only seconds earlier but then he'd made the miscalculation of reaching for the bottle of steak sauce before even tasting the very well done meat. "Uh huh."

His brother's had warned him about this, he'd been inside when she was carrying Aiden and had thought that her hormone swings were exaggerated but now he knew that was a lie. He'd seen a whole different side of her, one that gave him a healthy dose of fear for the levels that she could go to. His brother's assured him that it had been the same with their wives but he was pretty sure that Donna had never tossed a pot full of pasta sauce out the window because someone had simply asked if that might not be a little bit too much garlic she'd added?

"Everything looks really good," and it all did with the exception of the burned steak. "Right Aiden?" Happy looked over at his son, a near miniature of himself from the pictures his mother had kept.

"Can I have chicken nuggets? I don't like this." The nearly five year old boy laid down his fork. "Or can I go to Thomas and Abel's for dinner? Please Dad? I really don't like this."

"You've got dinner right in front of you Aiden," Happy told his son, he glanced over to Madeline and realized that in a cartoon steam would be pouring out her ears. She was really sensitive these days, there were only seven weeks left until she was due and he couldn't fucking wait.

"But I don't like it. It's gross. You said that if I told you I didn't like something I just had to tell and I wouldn't have to eat it." Aiden told him, a pout spreading across his face.

"I'll get the chicken nuggets, he's going to turn into a chicken nugget one of those days." Madeline stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"Your mom worked hard on this food Aiden, you could at least give it a real try." Happy took a sip of his water. "Can't just eat chicken nuggets for lunch and dinner every day."

"It's gross Dad," he whispered, "chicken nuggets aren't gross."

"That's a matter of opinion," Happy replied. "Eat the other stuff, I'm going to see if your Mom needs a hand and don't ask again in the middle of dinner to go eat at your friend's house. That wasn't nice and you know it."

"I know Dad." Aiden picked up his fork again, "I'll say sorry."

Happy ran his hand over Aiden's hair and then sucked in a deep breath as he headed for the kitchen. "Hey," he leaned against the door frame and studied his wife.

"The chicken nuggets are almost done," she kept her back to him as she stood in front of the toaster oven.

"He's just a kid Mad, kids say shit like that."

"I know that! Don't you think I know that!" She whirled around to face him, her eyes narrowed with anger. "Don't you think I know that the steak is burned too? I'm not entirely stupid even if I did find the car keys in the freezer after looking for them for two hours earlier."

It took a good deal of effort not to crack a smile at that. "No one said you're stupid," he kept his tone even, took several steps closer to where she was standing. "What do you need?" It was the safest question he could think of.

"I need to not be pregnant anymore, to not have my son prefer to be with his friends than me! To be able to see my fucking feet!" Madeline sighed deeply, "and yes, I know that I'm being a completely irrational fucking crazy person."

"Nah, you're good Girl," he closed the distance between them, cupped her face in his hands. "Ain't that much longer to go, you'll be able to see your feet." He kissed her with a smile. "Why don't you go upstairs? Relax? I'll take Aiden and go get us some Chinese food to eat on the couch while we watch a movie."

"Not Chinese, I want pizza with double spinach and pepperoni." Madeline laughed at his expression. "It's delicious damn it."

"I'll get you your own pie," he told her with a wink. "Go on, we'll be back in half an hour tops."

"Ice cream, I want ice cream too. Oh, and cake. I need cake."

"Gonna need to get your a membership at Lumpy's gym when this is all said and done if you keep eating like that," he teased. The humor earned him another glare. "Kidding Mad, just fucking kidding."

"


End file.
